Goldman Sachs to acquire NextCapital

Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire NextCapital, a Chicago-based fintech firm that provides automated advice to corporate retirement plan participants. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to regulatory and other approvals and conditions.

Founded in 2014, NextCapital is an open-architecture digital retirement advice provider that partners with financial institutions across the US to deliver personalized, customizable retirement planning and managed accounts through workplace retirement plans and individual retirement accounts. The company is backed by Transamerica Ventures, Manulife, and others and some of its clients include Transamerica, MassMutual, and John Hancock.

The acquisition of NextCapital will augment existing capabilities throughout Goldman Sachs’ asset and wealth management businesses, providing another tool for sponsors and other clients to consider when constructing a retirement program.

“This acquisition furthers our strategic objective of building compelling client solutions in asset management and accelerating our investment in technology to serve the growing defined contribution market.” – David Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs.

“Employers are looking to provide their employees tailored solutions and customizable advice that can better support individual saving and investing needs to help improve retirement savings outcomes. We believe personalization represents the future of retirement savings and will drive the next wave of innovative retirement solutions. Together with NextCapital’s talented team, we will continue to invest in technology to improve the experiences and outcomes of retirement investors and better serve the employers, advisors and financial institutions that support the growing $10 trillion DC market and the even larger IRA segment.” – Luke Sarsfield, Co-Head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

“Our vision for the future of the retirement savings market is aligned with the team at Goldman Sachs: technology that can create a differentiated experience combined with a strong culture and focus on clients forms a powerful offering for our clients and the individuals they serve. We can leverage the resources of a global financial services firm to continue to scale our platform and offer it to new third party institutional clients and Goldman Sachs’ broader wealth management organization.” – John Patterson, CEO at NextCapital.